The short answer on Pushup RPG vs Top Pushup: both are free camera push-up counters, but Top Pushup is a focused rep counter that watches your side profile and talks you through form, while Pushup RPG wraps rep counting inside a full role-playing game and also counts squats. If you want a plain counter with no game attached, Top Pushup is the more direct fit.
Disclosure, up front: this page is published by the makers of Pushup RPG. We built one of the two apps being compared, so treat this as an informed but interested source. Everything we say about Top Pushup below was read off its live US App Store listing (checked July 2026) and is labelled as such. Where their listing does not state something, we say that instead of guessing. Listings, prices and versions drift, so check the current listing before you decide.
The one-line version of each app
Top Pushup: AI Push Up Counter is a free push-up counter, with ads noted as of version 4.1.0 (US App Store, checked July 2026). You put the phone at floor level facing your side view — head to feet in frame — and per the listing it identifies push-up movements live, counts reps performed in plank form, and gives live audio form feedback. It is listed for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on iOS 12.0 or later, and also for Mac (M1 or later) and Apple Vision.
Pushup RPG is free on iOS 17.0 or later and on Google Play, and your reps are the combat system. The front camera counts push-ups and squats using on-device pose detection, and those reps damage the foe in front of you: 48 foes across 8 biomes, plus character classes, a skill tree, loot, daily quests and streaks. No video, image or pose data is recorded, stored or transmitted, and there is no server in the rep-counting loop. Released 25 June 2026, rated 4.8 on the App Store, age rating 4+ (checked July 2026). Developer: Yerasyl Amanbek (that is us).
Side by side
| What you are comparing | Pushup RPG | Top Pushup |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to download (App Store, checked July 2026). Optional Vigil membership as an in-app purchase; core camera rep-counting and the campaign are free. | Free, with ads noted as of version 4.1.0 (US App Store, checked July 2026). |
| How it counts | Front camera, on-device pose detection. Counts only full-range reps; depth decides. | Camera-based pose detection from a side view with the phone at floor level; counts reps performed in plank form, per the listing. |
| Exercises | Push-ups and squats. Squats arrived in v2.0 with their own leaderboard; push-up and squat records are never pooled. | Push-ups. Other exercises are not stated on their listing. |
| Platforms | iPhone (iOS 17.0+) and Android (Google Play). No Apple Watch app | iPhone, iPad, iPod touch (iOS 12.0+); also listed for Mac (M1 or later) and Apple Vision. No Apple Watch listed. |
| Spoken feedback | None. Reps that do not reach full range simply do not count. | Live audio form feedback, per the listing. |
| Game layer | Yes — 48 foes, 8 biomes, classes, skill tree, loot, daily quests, streaks with a streak freeze and a guided rest day. | Not stated on their listing. |
| Social features | Fellowships (guilds) with a weekly co-op boss and camera-counted leaderboards. Joining one is free; founding one needs the Vigil membership. | Not stated on their listing. |
| Apple Health | Opt-in and write-only: zero read permissions, no health queries at all. Writes one functional strength training workout per session plus a conservative active-energy estimate. | Not stated on their listing. |
| App Store rating | 4.8 on the App Store (checked July 2026). | We are not quoting one — check the current listing yourself. |
Pick Top Pushup if you want a counter and nothing else
This is the honest split, and we are not going to fudge it. Plenty of people do not want a game. They want to get on the floor, have a number go up correctly, and get on with the day. If that describes you, a game layer is not a bonus — it is a tax on your attention, and every extra screen between you and the set is a reason to skip the set. Top Pushup is built for exactly that job: place the phone, do reps, hear the count, done.
Three more cases where Top Pushup is the better call:
- Older hardware. Top Pushup is listed for iOS 12.0 and later. Pushup RPG requires iOS 17.0 or later, so on an older iPhone we simply will not install.
- You want to count on something other than an iPhone. Top Pushup is also listed for iPad, Mac (M1 or later) and Apple Vision. Pushup RPG runs on iPhone and Android. There is no native iPad, Mac or Vision app.
- You want spoken form cues while you move. Their listing advertises live audio form feedback. Pushup RPG has no equivalent: our feedback is quieter and blunter — a rep that does not reach full depth is not counted, and that is the whole mechanism.
The trade you accept is the ads their listing notes as of version 4.1.0, and a setup that wants your whole body, head to feet, visible in a side view with the phone down at floor level.
Pick Pushup RPG if the thing that beats you is boredom
Our read, from building the thing: people rarely quit push-ups because the movement is too hard. They quit because a number in a log is a thin reason to get on the floor on day nine. The RPG layer exists to give the set a consequence — a foe that only goes down when your reps land, streaks with a freeze and a guided rest day so one missed evening does not wipe out a month, and a Fellowship where a weekly co-op boss means other people are waiting on your set. Whether that works on you is a matter of temperament, and we cannot tell you which way you lean.
Two design details worth knowing before you install. Upgrades boost rewards — XP, gold, drop rates — and your damage per rep, so better gear fells a foe sooner; what no purchase does is log a rep you did not do. And the counter accepts only full-range reps, measuring depth, so a total cannot be padded with half-reps. That strictness is deliberate, and it is also the most common source of friction: the app will refuse reps you were sure you did. If that would irritate rather than motivate you, it is a genuine reason to choose the other app.
Squats are the other clean dividing line. Pushup RPG counts push-ups and squats, on separate leaderboards, so a squat number can never inflate a push-up record. Top Pushup's listing describes push-up counting; other exercises are not stated there.
If you need an Apple Watch, neither app helps
Plainly: Pushup RPG has no Apple Watch app — none exists. Android, however, is covered — Pushup RPG is on Google Play. Top Pushup's listing does not include Apple Watch either. So if wrist counting is your actual requirement, neither app on this page is your answer. Look instead at Push Up Counter & Tracker (Puuush), whose listing says it counts from the watch's gyroscope and accelerometer, or Rep Up for Watch, a general wrist-motion rep counter whose listing names push-ups among supported movements — both listed as free with in-app purchases (US App Store, checked July 2026). We compare the wider field in best apps that count pushups.
Settle it with one set in each
Both apps are free to download (checked July 2026), so install both, do one honest set in each, and delete the one that annoys you. Watch two things: whether the count agrees with the reps you actually performed, and whether you look forward to opening it tomorrow. Those two tend to matter more than anything on a feature list.
One training note whichever you choose. When a camera counter rejects your reps, the usual cause is short range of motion rather than lack of strength — our push-up form guide covers depth, elbow path and hand placement, and the beginner progression covers what to do when a full push-up is not there yet. Muscle soreness is normal. Sharp joint pain in the wrists, elbows or shoulders is a stop signal, not something to train through — end the set, and see a clinician if it persists.
